As above really. Currently, running a 90 mm +10 degrees, but occasionally feeling a bit stretched out. I know it’s not that long for a stem, but I’d be interested to hear if anyone has experimented with short stems (<70 mm).
Cheers all.
I went down to a 70mm after getting 500mm bars. Feels great, better than the old set up.
I've been running a 60mm stem for over 3 years.
I’ve recently gone from 90 to 70 because i was feeling a bit stretched out. Now more comfortable and rides absolutely fine.
When I switched to flared bars (On One Midge), I switched to shorter and angled much higher (30 degrees I think) and it works for me. Not sure it’s the prettiest, but I’ve also got mudguards, a pannier rack, and Shimano M324s, so clearly not that bothered.
Mine came with 70mm stock but I'll probably fit a slightly longer one as my knees brush the back of my GPS attached to the bars
Ive just put a redshift flexstem on in the shortest length they do, 80mm. Replaces a 70mm. If you run wide flared bars if effects actual effective reach, or something.
50mm on mine, frame size designed around a 70mm as it's LLS (for a gravel bike) but my back likes it a bit more upright. I've yet to bang my knees on the bars
I'd like a longer top tube mated to a shorter stem just to get around the top overlap issues on my current 54cm decade Tripster. Slow techy climbing is a ballache currently.
Boardman CX came with 120mm(!) and so I replaced with 80mm. Much better balance of body position.
My Merlin came with quite a short stem - looking at it 60 or 70mm. Coupled with a slacker head angle and it feels stable at speed yet more responsive when you do turn - more look, drop a shoulder and it just goes like my MTB.
Boardman CX came with 120mm
Same, put a 90mm on, loads better. Had a 75mm on another bike for a while. Even did 50mm on one.
Just experiment with cheap stems till you find the correct fit/balance/handling for you
Appreciate the feedback folks.
No danger of my knees catching my 50mm non-flared bars, so I think I’ll give it a whirl.
Junior’s bike has a 70 mm stem which will fit 🤫
60mm on an Arkose with 500mm wide bars. A nice fit for me.
6'3" but with long legs. Running 70mm +17° stem on the gravel bike (over a shed load of spacers) with 460mm flared bars, annoys me how shit it looks, but it's comfy and can ride it all day without pinching shoulders that I get if even having it at 80/90mm stem. In reality an L frame would have probably suited me better than XL due to lanky legs.
Next time gravel bike will definitely have a much higher stack
@dufresneorama - similar here. Lanky 6’3”ish on a 58 Whyte Friston. They come up big!
Depends on head angle, trail, front centre, bar width, bar reach, head tube length, spacers etc.
If it's slack as hell and a long bike then a short stem with wide bars may well work.
It if is a CX bike then it might end up a twitchy piece of shit.
Got a 60mm on my Camino with 440 wide, flared bars. Rides very nicely.
40mm on my Chamois Hagar
I like short.
If you're stretched out too much you can't vary body positions so much, and that's something you have to do a lot on a gravel bike to compensate for the skinny tyres and no suspension.
@sailor74 - at the risk of hijacking someone else's thread, I'd love to hear more about the Hagar. I'd been put off by comments about it being too stiff and I think Kesteven even suggested his needed a slightly longer stem.
My Whyte came with an 80mm but I'm now running a 50mm and it feels great.
@Onzadog
I haven’t found it too stiff but it does need a wider bar than stock. Think of any 66 head angle mtb, the wider the bars the better it handles.
I’ve never crashed so much riding it though! Because it’s so much more capable than a normal drop bar bike you end up riding it like an mtb. I’ve done all the usual Surrey hill trails on it, from summer lightning to the more technical stuff on pitch hill. It’s not as fast as an mtb but it’s very engaging and will get you down the hill. The next day I’ll do 100k on the north downs.
Stock tyres are ok in the dry, 28/30psi. The best are Schwalbe Ultra-bite in 50mm flavour.
The bottom line is you can ride almost anything on it, but you have to weight the front to stop it washing out, just like any modern mtb, it just takes a little more skill on drop bars which is really all part of the appeal.
70mm on my Escapade SSCX. 85mm on my Pickenflick (with Midge bars).